Project: Federal-Style Home, Episode 2, Part 3

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Bob gets a look at how the newly framed addition will blend gracefully into the back of the old house, adding a considerable amount of expanded living space. Restoration contractor Richard Marks explains how they're reproducing damaged sections of the elaborate, early 19th-century plaster cornice in the dining room. And Bob takes a tour of the spectacular home of Nathaniel Russell, one of Charleston's wealthiest merchants of the Colonial period.

Bob takes a tour of the historic, spectacular home of Nathaniel Russell, one of Charleston's wealthiest Colonial merchants. Bob discusses the architecture and decor. One highlight is the home's famous cantilevered staircase.

Bob Vila tackles the revitalization of an exquisite Federal-style home, built in the early 1800s, which survived the Civil War but barely survived Hurricane Hugo in 1989. A major aspect of the project is the painstaking process of restoring the original plaster ornamentation and woodwork to their original detail.